A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu still had some concerns.

Ordinary people had to make an IOU when borrowing money. Thus, Qi Xuansu figured that these unique supernatural beings who occupied the Ghost Kingdom would not just give away their asset and let him leave so simply. There must be some way that they could prevent him from defaulting on the debt. Otherwise, there would be no way for them to look for him if he decided to flee.

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment and asked, “I’ll also be honest with you, Master Yin. Aren’t you afraid that I will default on my debt?”

“Of course, I am!” Yin Jiuyin continued, “That’s why I want to write a contract binding us together.”

Qi Xuansu was about to speak when Yin Jiuyin waved his hand and added, “My friend, please don’t rush to refuse me just yet. You might as well listen to what I have to say first. Since this is a contract, both parties must be satisfied. I won’t force you into it. If you agree to the terms, then you can accept this Pingtian crown. If you don’t agree to it, then you may refuse my offer.”

“Master Yin, please go ahead.” Qi Xuansu patiently listened.

Master Yin explained, “Master Wan, Madam Bai, and I were once humans. We were reborn in the Ghost Kingdom, so you can say that the three of us are closely related to the Ghost Kingdom.

“If you are willing to accept this Pingtian crown that has the condensed fortune of the Ghost Kingdom, you will also have a connection with the Ghost Kingdom, and by extension, with us. In that case, we will be on the same boat. That’s how this contract will be created.

“This type of contract and connection is mutual. The Earthly Preceptor Xu Wugui once established a contract with the Great Heavenly Preceptor Zhang Jingxiu. Later, Xu Wugui used the power of the celestial platform to pass a heavenly tribulation, becoming an Earthly Immortal. No one could control him.

“Left with no other choice, Zhang Jingxiu used the contract they made to restrain him, dragging the Earthly Preceptor along in his ascension to the heavens before his time. Even though the Earthly Preceptor was already stronger than the Great Heavenly Preceptor at that time, Xu Wugui still could not reverse it. This is the power of the contract. Once you establish a contract with us, we will be restrained by each other. It’s a fair deal.”

Qi Xuansu was tempted to agree. He inquired. “How is a contract established?”

“I want to show you my sincerity, so I won’t deceive you.” Yin Jiuyin raised the Pingtian crown and explained, “The contract itself is divine power. All you need to do is accept the Pingtian crown and absorb its divine power with your Xuan Jade. Once you use the Xuan Jade, the contract will be sealed.”

Qi Xuansu had to admit that Master Yin was indeed very sincere. Master Yin could have easily lied to him, as he did not know how things worked.

Of course, there was a possibility that Master Yin was afraid of Qi Xuansu’s background. After all, with Qi Xuansu’s level of cultivation, it was highly unlikely that he could obtain this Xuan Jade of Death on his own. Since Yin Jiuyin was unaware of Qi Xuansu’s background and wanted a favor from him, it was safer to approach him with sincerity.

When dealing with strangers, there was no need to think the worst of others, but one should also not think the best of others.

Qi Xuansu asked again, “What will happen after the contract is established?”

Yin Jiuyin replied, “In the event the three of us die before you, your life will not be in danger, but your cultivation will be damaged. The amount of damage depends on the level of your cultivation. For your current level, you can easily recover from the damage. But if you reach a high level, such as a Pseudo-Immortal, it will be a loss that is difficult to bear.

“Of course, you should weigh the benefits and losses before you make this trade-off. If you think that the cost of helping us far exceeds the loss of cultivation, then you don’t need to save us. This is what I mean by helping us if you can. If it’s beyond your capability, we won’t blame you for whatever happens.

“If you fail to reach such heights and waste your life away, or if you die before us, then this contract will be void. One more thing; we can extend help to you when needed, but there are some limitations.”

Qi Xuansu listened very carefully. Based on his past experience, he did not notice any obvious loopholes. These terms were also quite reasonable. Moreover, he was interested in knowing more about how they could help him when needed.

“Can you elaborate on the help that you mentioned?”

“Sure.” Yin Jiuyin held up the Pingtian crown as he explained, “To put it bluntly, you can open a gap between the yin and yang realms, just like the Yin Yang Gate, with the divine power in this crown.”

After that, Yin Jiuyin started to demonstrate how to use the crown.

The Pingtian crown in his hand glowed faintly, but there was no sound all around them.

Qi Xuansu instantly felt a chill behind his back.

An illusory door slowly opened, filled with mist. After a while, Madam Bai walked out of the door.

Yin Jiuyin explained, “The three of us can be considered as one and the same. If you summon us, whoever is free among us will answer your call.”

It was only then that Qi Xuansu realized that Madam Bai was actually half human and half skeleton. The human part of her was extremely beautiful, with skin as smooth as jade. But the skeleton half of her was terrifying. It was not just her face, but her hands and feet were all smooth white bones. However, her clothes covered most of her body, so he did not notice earlier. He only realized it as the bones peeked out while she was walking.

Madam Bai glanced at the Pingtian crown in Yin Jiuyin’s hand and said nothing.

Yin Jiuyin continued his explanation. “However, this method has great limitations. This Yin Yang Gate can only be opened in certain places, preferably somewhere with strong yin energy. In a place with strong yang energy, like a paradise or a densely populated town, it will be difficult to open the Yin Yang Gate.”

Qi Xuansu muttered, “Well, it’s easy for you and Madam Bai to walk through this makeshift door, but I’m afraid it can’t accommodate Master Wan’s giant body.”

Yin Jiuyin laughed. “Don’t worry, kid. You will know when the time comes.”

Qi Xuansu could only nod in response.

He did not have a reason to refuse such good terms. After all, no matter how he looked at it, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. According to Master Yin, Qi Xuansu would have to be at least a Pseudo-Immortal to repay the debt. Qi Xuansu was self-aware to know that he was not like Zhang Yuelu, who could certainly reach that level.

From his point of view, Master Yin and the others were taking a bigger risk by betting on him. If he was being optimistic, they were betting on his future in hopes of him helping them out in their time of need. If he were to think about it negatively, they were out of options, and desperate times called for desperate measures.

Yin Jiuyin handed the Pingtian crown to Qi Xuansu again. “My friend, we are gifting this fortune to you today in hopes that you can soar to great heights. Never forget that the universe will respond to persistence.”

Qi Xuansu took a deep breath and finally accepted the crown.

In an instant, a rush of divine power surged toward the Xuan Jade of Death in Qi Xuansu’s hand.

The familiar feeling came over him again.

Qi Xuansu’s consciousness gradually blurred, but he was still clutching onto the Xuan Jade of Death tightly.

He had a dream.

In his dream, Qi Xuansu came to the same place again. It was a familiar scene to him by now.

The tall and black mountain was the same as before.

Qi Xuansu climbed along the rugged trail to the top of the mountain, which also looked the same, with a vast open space and a big bonfire in the middle.

The only difference this time was the number of figures around the fire. There were only nine tall figures behind the fire, so two of them were missing. The firelight elongated their shadows.

These nine tall figures were still shrouded in a black shadow so thick that it could not be removed. Only a vague outline and two dots of blood-red light at the position of one’s eyes could be seen through that shadow.

One of the missing figures was probably Wu Yang.

Although Qi Xuansu knew that he was in a dream, he still felt a chill all over due to the overwhelming pressure from the remaining nine figures. He could feel a mix of kindness and hostility from the group.

The fire became brighter, making the surroundings appear darker. The nine figures standing between the firelight and the darkness began to murmur.

After a while, the murmurs grew louder, as if the voices had traveled through time and space to arrive in the present world.

At this moment, eight figures gradually disappeared and retreated into the darkness, leaving only one figure walking forward into the firelight, revealing its true appearance.

Qi Xuansu finally saw the true appearance of this figure. She was a woman more than 33 meters tall, wearing a grayish-white robe, standing barefoot, with white hair like snow hanging down to her lower back. She had pale skin and strange paint on her face.

There was an eerie totem behind her that resembled a formation diagram. It was grayish white with hints of black, featuring a human face with the body of a bird, accompanied by a green snake.

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